Barcelona president sends reassuring message over new deals for Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta

Josep Maria Bartomeu says both players will stay at the Nou Camp for as long as they want.

Bartomeu is confident Messi and Iniesta will stay at Barcelona for the long-term.Getty Images

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has told supporters to be 'calm' about Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, insisting both players will continue at the Nou Camp for as long as they want.

The futures of the two Catalans favourites has been under scrutiny in recent times as their contracts are due to expire at the end of the current campaign.

Barcelona announced on 5 July that the Messi had agreed a new contract to commit his future to the Nou Camp club until 2021. However, Messi is yet to sign that deal amid suggestions that the Argentinina international is upset with the board following a summer in which he saw his pal Neymar leaving Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain.

Iniesta's situation is even more critical as the Spaniard recently said that he is yet to make a decision about his future – only days after Bartomeu said that they had reach an agreement in principle for the captain to extend his contract.

The Barcelona president also recently assured that Messi's father signed the new deal on behalf of his son back in July and the club expect to make an official announcement with the Messi himself soon.

Bartomeu has now reassured fans that both players will continue at Barcelona after both played a crucial role in the Catalans' 3-0 victory over Juventus in their Champions League opener played on Tuesday night (12 September).

"Messi has a four-year contract. He's the best ever and played for us since he was small and we enjoy watching him play because he's unique," Bartomeu said, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo following the win over Juve.

"The club members can be calm. We've already said Messi's renewal is signed and that he'll be at Barca for as long as he wants, the same with Iniesta.

"[Iniesta] has extraordinary quality. He was here when Ronaldinho was and now he's with Messi. He's crucial for us, he had a great game [against Juventus].

Bartomeu did admit that the summer transfer window was not as good as expected after they failed to complete the signings of top targets like Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho and former Real Madrid ace Angel Di Maria. However, the Barcelona president believes that Ernesto Valverde's squad is still good enough to fight for every title this season having shown major improvement in the first three games of the new La Liga campaign.

"Barcelona never left. They've always been around. We must keep up our successes. We have a competitive club and team. We can be very happy. We wanted to win tonight and Messi made the difference. We have enthusiasm and we have to get rid of the pessimism," Bartomeu stated.

"We leave this game [against Juventus] with a good taste in our mouths. We had an hectic August in which some players we wanted didn't arrive, but now we have to work with what we have and we've started the Valverde project, who has confidence, intelligence and knowledge."